No matter
which side you're on, many can agree that safety comes first, and now, federal
regulators are concerned about the safety of an Alabama nuclear plant after its
emergency cooling system failed.

The
Browns Ferry nuclear power plant is located near Athens, Alabama and is run by
the Tennessee Valley Authority. A valve on its residual heat removal system was
stuck shut, which prompted in-depth inspections by the NRC.

According
to reports, there have been previousproblems
with the valve. Originally, the valve failed sometime after March 2009, but
wasn't identified until October 2010 when the plant was being refueled. The
valve was fixed at that time, and was labeled as a manufacturer's defect.
Despite the plant's effort to fix the valve and inspect all others like it, the
NRC criticized the plant for not finding the valve issue sooner through routine
inspections.

"The
valve was repaired prior to returning the unit to service and Browns Ferry
continued to operate safely," said Victor McCree, the NRC's Region ll
administrator. "However, significant problems involving key safety systems
warrant more extensive NRC inspection and oversight."

Had there
been an emergency, the NRC worries that the faulty valve could have prevented
the emergency cooling systems from working correctly. For this reason, the NRC
will continue to review the safety culture, organization and performance of the
plant.

"The
results of this inspection will aid the NRC in deciding whether additional
regulatory actions are necessary to assure public health and safety," said
McCree.

For the
time being, the NRC has issued a red finding against the Brown Ferry nuclear
plant, which is themost
severe ranking given to a plant for inspection. Only five red findings
have been issued in the U.S. in the past decade. It is unknown whether the
Tennessee Valley Authority will appeal the finding from the NRC at this time.

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